White House Lays Out Ebola Precautions

The White House on Monday said U.S. officials have taken multiple precautions to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus to this country, eliminating the need to block flights from African nations stricken by an outbreak of the deadly disease.

“At this point there are screenings that are in place, both before individuals board flights in their home countries, or where these flights originate, but also after these individuals arrive here in the United States they are screened once again,” said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. “And there are facilities available that if an individual is detected exhibiting these symptoms that they can be quarantined and promptly evaluated by a medical professional.”

There have been calls for the U.S. to stop flights from countries battling the Ebola infection, punctuated by a comment on Donald Trump’s Twitter account over the weekend. “The U.S. must immediately stop all flights from EBOLA infected countries or the plague will start and spread inside our “borders.” Act fast!,” the tweet read.

But Mr. Earnest outlined a series of steps taken to minimize the risk of the disease spreading, including steps the Centers for Disease Control has taken to train Customs and Border Patrol officers to recognize symptoms of the illness.

“Because there are CBP officers who are carefully monitoring passengers who are arriving from these countries, we are in a position to ensure that public health is protected,” Mr. Earnest said. “If CBP officers do recognize an individual who appears to be exhibiting some of these symptoms, there are facilities at these ports of entry, at these airports, where individuals can be quarantined and evaluated by medical personnel.”

The disease isn’t contagious unless an infected person is exhibiting symptoms, Mr. Earnest noted. According to the CDC, infection is spread by direct contact with the blood or secretions of an infected person or exposure to contaminated objects, such as needles.

The latest outbreak comes as officials from Africa gather in Washington for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. The White House in a statement said the U.S. is sending CDC experts to “augment the team that has been on the ground since March, and will work with partners to control the outbreak even as we increase assistance to those in need now.”

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